Hazel's Vintage Pretties

"Are You a Tigger or an Eeyore?"

Hi all...If you haven't seen this "Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch , it's well worth the 76 minutes it takes to watch it.  One of the things he asks in the lecture is, "Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore"?  In other words, are you a positive person or a negative one?  I don't know about you, but I think that's really great food for thought. 
     I must admit, that I have been conditioned to lean toward being an Eeyore, because of my childhood (No offense to anyone involved in my childhood; I gave up holding grudges a long time ago).
     I have to work at being a Tigger, and I don't always succeed. But, it's well worth the effort!  Have a Tigger day!...Katie  (Here's a photo of a dear younger friend/my daughter's babysitter and I on a recent mini vacation...Lots of Tigger moments!)

What Did You Do Today?

Do you ever feel like you're doing too much?  Today, like many days, was one of those days for me...Here's a partial list of what I did today:

~Watered the garden
~Made the bed
~Cleaned up the kitchen
~Did the laundry
~Returned a rented trumpet (had to drive far, to a place I'd never been before...Got lost)
~Sold some books to a used book store
~Delivered some block print cards to two different shops
~Cashed a check at one bank, and dropped off another at a different bank
~Picked up misc. items at the drug store
~Shopped for groceries
~Made dinner, while helping my daughter run a lemonade/pretzel stand
~Cleaned up the kitchen

Whew!  I'm tired!  There's some really bad pollen around here the last couple of days, and my nasal spray isn't doing much to help, so I've had a stuffed up nose all day, and have been sneezing like crazy...Time for bed...Good thing I'm going on a mini vacation Thursday through Sunday...I'm going to this event, on early buyers day. Hope your day wasn't this busy...BCNU...Katie (From Hazel's Vintage Pretties)

"You Made Me Love You...I Didn't Want To Do It, I Didn't Want To Do It"

     When my son's girlfriend gave him a hamster, nineteen months ago, I wasn't pleased.  I'd been telling my son, "No", on the subject for quite some time...I didn't want to have another living thing that I might end up being responsible for, and whose loss I would someday mourn.  I was determined to have nothing to do with this hamster, who my son named, "Baxter". 
     Yes, you guessed it, I became attached to that cute little guy, completely against my will...Today I took him to the vet, because he'd been having trouble eating, and had been quite lethargic...The very kind vet told me that Baxter had a large cancerous (he presumed) tumor in his mouth, and he gently recommended putting the little sweetheart to sleep, to prevent him from suffering any longer. 
     I called my son, who was at school, and he said to please go ahead and have it done.  I spent about ten minutes holding Baxter, prior to the inevitable...He made his cute little squeaky noises in my ear, and had a couple of bites of a strawberry that I'd brought with us...And yes, I cried like a baby...When they offered to take him into the other room to put him to sleep, I said I wanted to be with him when they did it...I feel that we owe it to our pets (in this case, our kids' pets), to be with them until the end...They gave him the injection, and then I held him for the minute or two that it took for him to go...He just seemed to curl up and go to sleep.
     I was surprised at how much love I felt for this little guy...If he hadn't had that cute little face with those cute little whiskers, and that sweet little squeaky noise, I might have been safe...I heard in a movie recently, (can't recall which one), that God gives us brave hearts, so that we will love people, animals, etc, knowing that someday we'll have to feel the pain of losing them.  I suppose we can't withhold our love in order to protect ourselves, even though I think we do try sometimes, to do just that. 
     I think the point is, to love completely...Even though it will hurt later...Take care, Katie

 PS  I know my last two posts have been on the sad side...That's just part of life, and in this case, part of blogging.

"I Have Something To Say"

     When my son was little, and he was about to tell you something important, he'd preface it with, "I have something to say"...Well, today I have something to say.  I hope to raise some awareness in my readers' minds and hearts, regarding elderly people.  I've always had a place in my heart for the elderly.  When I was growing up, and then as an adult, I've always had elderly people that I've routinely visited. 
     I even ended up being the helper to a woman that had gone blind from diabetes.  Her name was "Maxine", and she was very special to me as a young adult, from the time I was nineteen until my early twenties. 
     What I want to point out to you all is that many of our elderly people feel invisible and ignored.  I've asked many older people about this, and most of them share the same experience:  That when they're out in society, no one makes eye contact with them, except for some of the other people in their age group.  Isn't that sad?  Even as a forty~five year old woman, I've noticed that I'm treated differently by the young "whipper snappers."
     I am asking anyone who reads this, to please make it a habit to notice and talk to the elderly people that you see in your daily lives.  If you already do, then I applaud you...Older people can be so interesting and fun to talk to.  Just yesterday, there was a gentleman sitting on the bench at the Nordstrom entrance at the mall, probably waiting for someone.  I said to him, "You're the smartest guy here", (because while everyone else was rushing around buying things, there he sat, very calm and comfortable, enjoying the moment)...He laughed and said, "I know!"...Please spread the word that many elderly people feel ignored...We can do better as a society, one of us at a time...Thanks for listening...Katie


















This is a photo of my husband with my eighty~seven year old Mom (My mom is the elderly one, not my husband!)

One Root Canal and Crown, Coming Right Up!

Hi everyone...Well, it looks like I'm in for a root canal and a crown ($$$$$)...Oh well, what's a gal to do?  I'm making aprons, bibs, headbands and pillows, to raise some dental funds!  I'm also on a spending diet...It's amazing how much we spend without really realizing it...I took my credit card out of my wallet, and I'm spending cash only, and not carrying much of it with me...I only use my debit card for necessities...This is new for me...I'm not a shopaholic or anything, but I know I could spend less than I do... My mom says, "one way to have more money is to spend less"...(Not just to earn more)
     I've also started exercising more...This has been in the last few days, so I wouldn't call it a trend yet, but I'm working on it!  My son drives now, so for the first time in my life, I'm sharing my car...Today I let him take the car for most of the day, and boy did I do a lot of walking...It feels good to make small, positive changes...(Just between you and me, I was so proud of all the exercise I got today, that I stopped at a crepe cafe very near my home, and bought myself a whipped cream and strawberry/nutella crepe, and I ate the whole thing myself!)...One step forward, two steps back...Have a good day...Katie

You Never Know What a Day Will Bring

     Today was one of those days that held unforeseen circumstances, more sad than usual.  I was driving along, and much to my dismay, I saw a tiny little dog laying in the road ahead of me.  I got out of my car and went to the dog.  I wasn't sure if the dog was dead or alive, but a man who had stopped said he thought she was shivering.  I picked up the sweet little angel, not knowing exactly what I was going to do with her, but knowing that I had to get her out of the street. 
     In that instant when I lifted her very tiny body, I loved that dog.  It didn't matter that I didn't know her; I just loved her.  A neighbor helped me to locate the dog's owner, very quickly.  She was at home with her little child, and she was very distraught, understandably.  I went to the nearest veterinary clinic with her, cradling the dog the entire time, as the owner needed to hold her child.  They took her to another room for a couple of minutes, and returned with her wrapped in a blanket, informing us that she was dead.
     It almost seemed like some kind of a dream, but the blood on my shirt, shoes, and arms reminded me that it was not. 
      Even though this was a very sad experience, it was also something that I'm glad I was there for.  I'm glad that I was able to offer some comfort to the owner, who is a very sweet woman.  We can offer our compassion and caring to people and animals that we don't know, because we don't have to know them.  All we have to know is that they are hurting, and they need someone.  Please say a little prayer for this family, and their sweet little dog, "Henny."  Take care, Katie